Muscatine Man Charged with Murder

A Muscatine man faces a first-degree murder charge following the death of a man who was in a coma for several days.

Muscatine County Attorney Alan R. Ostergren says the charge against 27-year-old Jose Tapia was filed Friday, following the Wednesday death of 39-year-old Michael Newman. Court records do not list an attorney.

The Muscatine Journal says Tapia is accused of hitting Newman with a baseball ball on Aug. 8 following an altercation. Newman was hospitalized and placed in a medically induced coma before he died from his injuries.

Newman’s death meant original charges of attempted murder and willful injury were amended. Tapia remains at the Muscatine County Jail with a $300,000 cash only bond

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WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has been selected in the trial for a man accused of killing his former girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter. Lawyers began questioning jurors Monday and narrowed a pool of more than 100 candidates to a panel of five women and seven men for the trial of Casey Frederiksen. Prosecutors say the 35-year-old was watching Evelyn Miller for her mother in July 2005 when he sexually abused the girl and stabbed her to death.